Samwise Gamgee: General of the Ages
by LTTEsoulja
Summary: This is my first story, it isn't really good. Anyway, none of these characters are mine...This story is about Sam from LOTR and he is thrown into the world of starcraft...R&R plz.


**Fan Fiction**

**Samwise the Brave**

Disclaimer: Some of the content and the ideas of this story have been taken from Lord of the Rings and Starcraft. I have taken the characters form Starcraft and Lord of the Rings. From Lord of the Rings I took Samwise Gamgee, Frodo Baggins and Rosie. From the game Starcraft, I have taken the units from two of the races. Marines, Siege Tanks, Battle cruisers, Goliaths, Firebats, Ghosts, Wraiths and Vultures have all been taken from the Terran race. Zerglings, Hydralisks, Mutalisks, Ultralisks, Queens, Infested Terrans, and Guardians have been taken from the Zerg race.

The field was littered with dismembered corpses of Terrans and Zergs alike. So much blood had been shed that the mud was tinged red. The amour that he wore was splattered with the green blood of the Zerg race and part of it was dented with the shredding claws of the Zerglings. As an acid spine zinged right past his ear, Samwise thought back to the day he arrived in Tarsnosis. It had been a day like any other, sunshine, birds singing, and his wife cooking a pan of cinnamon toast. His children had asked his for a fish to eat for dinner and he had promised to take them fishing. "I've got to get the bait for the fishing rod or else Rosie will be very angry." He had thought to himself.

"Samwise, come on down for breakfast!" His wife Rosie had yelled. Samwise had gone down, bolted down his breakfast and marched right out to find worms for bait. He had walked right down to the lake where he found a group of worms huddling together. He had went down on his knees and tried to grab for them when he had slipped and fell into the lake. His legs had gotten tangled in the seaweed and he couldn't swim. He had thought "Last time I fell, Frodo had been there to save me, but now…" He had started to fell his life ebb away when he lost consciousness. He'd waked to find himself not on Middle Earth but on a strange, alien planet. That was how it started. The 2nd most important journey of his life, the journey to survive. He had wandered around and found a clearing with water. He had stooped down to drink the water when without any alarm a group of creatures appeared.

Samwise turned around and slowly backed away towards the trees. Ahead of him were two dozen small creatures, no bigger than dogs. Extending from the back of their heads was a large plate, and instead of legs the creatures had two large and dangerous-looking sickle-shaped limbs. Behind them rose a spindly, snake-like creature with two arms that ended in the bone sickles as well, but this one had plates on its upper body that swung open to reveal several rows of spines. It snarled at him and began to advance slowly, saliva dripping from its jaws.

He'd curled onto a ball and waited for the sharp claws and spines to pierce his flesh. Just then, a loud noise rang out. He'd looked up and saw that men in some sort of strange white armour had started to shoot at the aliens. The foremost of the smaller creatures died instantly but the rest ran forward at the five men, while the large one released a wave of its needle spines at the squad. The mens' suits absorbed most of the spines, but the one at the left, who still had his helmet off, got a face full and fell to the ground, clutching at his eyes. The man next to him dropped to a crouch and, with one arm still firing at the oncoming attackers, helped the man on the ground get his helmet back on. Now there were less than a hundred meters between the men and the small creatures.

"Fall back!" ordered one of them, helping one of the men carry the wounded man back. One of the men fired another burst from his weapon that sent one of the creatures spinning away into the trees that collapsed onto it. It gave a muted squeal of pain and then fell silent, but there were still several of them advancing very rapidly, as well as their large companion.

The men ran at them, guns blazing and decimating the rest of the creatures into pools of blood. They then approached Samwise, their weapons trained at him. "Approach with extreme caution. Do not shoot unless you are provoked." Samwise heard one of the men say. They had come closer and Samwise did not move. They'd picked him up and carried him to a large, mechanized building. Many men that looked the same as the men with the white armour roamed around, oblivious to the fact that the other man had brought him in. A man who was wearing a black coat with a large yellow stripe across the middle entered the room and walked up to Samwise and the other men.

"Who is that? What is he, a new Protoss weapon?" The man with the black coat had asked.

"No sir, he is a Terran that's for sure. Look, he has the same facial features as us. The only difference is that he is shorter than us. "One of the white armoured men had said.

"Take him to the Interrogation room." The black coat man had said.

Sam was unable to hold his fear in and had yelled out in protest. All the men had turned to look at him and had a puzzled look on their face. "I don't want to go to the Interrogation room or anywhere! I want to go home!" Samwise had yelled to their faces.

"Well marine, I think you were right about this man being a Terran. He speaks our language, and mostly shifters do not speak our language." The man in the black cat had said. He'd walked over to Samwise and picked him up. He shook Samwise and said "Hello. I am Commodore Ryan, pilot of the battlecruiser Valkrie. Who are you?"

"I am Samwise Gamgee of the Shire. I come from Middle Earth. I am a hobbit from the northern part of the Shire. What is this place?" Samwise had asked.

"This is the planet of Tarsnosis. We the Terrans prosper here because we are protected from the Zerg and the Protoss. Welcome to our home." Commodore Ryan had announced. Later he had taken Samwise and the white armoured men that the Commodore had called "Marines" to a large metal vehicle that the Commodore had called a "Siege Tank". The Commodore had lead Samwise to a marine by the name of James. The Commodore had told Samwise to get acquainted with James for Samwise would have to fight with their squad.

"Fight! Why do I have to fight? What did I do?" Samwise protested.

"You are a Terran, Samwise, you must fight for our cause...and to protect our civilization. If you don't fight, you will never be respected by anyone here. Samwise, you must help us." James had told him.

Samwise had turned away in protest, thinking how he would get home. If he couldn't get home, Sam would have to somehow scrape a living in this land. He'd decided to change the subject at this moment. "What should I do now? How do I fight?" he'd questioned James.

"We have to first get you in a suit of standard marine armour and then teach you how to fire a gun, a Gauss Rifle to be exact." James had said.

'What are a guns and Gauss Rifles?" Samwise had questioned.James had picked up the black stick that he had used to shoot the raptor and showed it to Samwise, and told him that the stick was called a Gauss Rifle and a gun in general. "What were those raptor things back at the clearing?" he'd questioned.

"Those my friend, were Zerglings. They are the base warrior of the Zerg and they can quickly take us down if we are not armed properly. They destroy anything that lies in their path. That was why I came here, my village was destroyed by hordes of Zerglings and I saw my parents and my brother killed right before my eyes. That drove me to become a marine, to kill all those Zerg who were the cause of my family's death." James had said and then he'd broke out into tears, and had started to weep uncontrollably. Samwise had soon arrived at the Barracks for the marines and he had been fitted into a custom made white armour suit for him. He had been give a Gauss Rifle and a badge that identified him as a soldier in the Terran army.

He'd trained for years on end, in drills exercising his strength, dexterity, and stamina. He'd soon turned into a fully certified Marine Commander. He'd even got a customized E-135 UED Shotgun and everyone under his command had started to call him Shotgun Samwise. He'd known then and there that he was destined to become the leader.

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Chapter 2

Here he was, after 6 years of landing on Tarsnosis somehow. Not only was he homesick, he was stranded on some unknown battlefield. It had been a terrible battle, the Zerg had brought in uncountable numbers of Zerglings, hundreds of Hydralisks, about 50 elephant like Ultralisks, dozens of Mutalisks, and about ten Zerg Queens. Then he had saw some of his men go down only to rise again as undead "Infested Terrans". These soldiers were terrible; they were mindless zombies that were kamikaze soldiers. Even against insurmountable odds, the Terran army had put up a excellent fight. There were about 600 squads of Marines, 500 flame throwing soldiers called Firebats, dozens of mechanized crab-like vehicles called Goliaths, dozens of Siege Tanks and finally about 50 Battlecruisers, each about the size of a city.

The battle had raged out unexpectedly, the Hydralisks shooting their acid spines while the ear-splitting rapid fire of the Gauss Rifles had rang out. Zerglings tore apart the Goliaths and feasted on the flesh of the pilot while the Firebats cut through the Zerglings like a hot knife through butter. Siege Tanks had pounded down on the Ultralisks like there was no tomorrow while the Zerg Queens had infested many of the marines.

Samwise had found himself with his squad of 12 men, in the middle of a Zergling horde. They were outnumbered by 1 to 12. They had started pounding the triggers of their rifles killing as much Zerglings as they could before going down. One of the men beside him, Private Dornes was overwhelmed by 5 Zerglings and got his face torn apart by their merciless claws, his face openly bleeding from his already dead face. Samwise gave a yell of anger and fury at seeing one of his men getting killed and renewed his attempt to wipe out these miserable beings.

He picked up the Gauss Rifle of Private Dornes and shot at the Zerglings. His guns were blazing, his teeth gritted and he was taking Private Dornes revenge killing these creatures. His mind was filled with a flurry of hate and swear words, he yelled out all the rude phrases that he could think of as he dove into the horde, killing off the last of the Zerglings. Out of nowhere, a group of 12 Hydralisks took them by surprise, killing 2 of the marines.

An enormous shadow fell upon them and the Hydralisks had looked up, and the loud zing of the Battlecruiser lasers had decimated the Hydralisk horde. They then had assisted 2 squads of Marines fight off a group of Ultralisks. The Ultralisks were like huge biological tanks, cutting through the Marines like a butcher's knife. Finally, the Wraith airplane fighters came in weaving a path of destruction as they went. Just then, without warning, they had been surrounded by the flying Mutalisks, and only he had survived the initial attack. With the second attack coming up, and no one around him to help, Samwise had started to flee, heading for the hills in the background, and here he was now.

He peered out of his hiding spot and saw a pair of Hydarlisks approaching his hiding spot, but oblivious to the fact that he was there. He put down his Gauss Rifle and took his E-135 UED Shotgun off the holster on his back. He had excellent aim with this weapon and he crouched down, aiming for the head of one of the Hydralisks. He shot and the Hydralisk had dropped on the spot. The other had looked around, searching for the attacker. It failed to find him so he delivered it a headshot that dropped it. He strapped the Shotgun onto his back and picked up his Gauss Rifle. He decided to search for some Terran forces to join up with. He spotted a few Battlecruisers in the distance but they were too far away to catch up to. He decided to march back south, which was the direction from where he had come from.

As Samwise headed south, he heard the distant pounding of Siege Tanks. He decided to head over to where the sound was coming from in hope of getting rescued. As the Siege Tanks came into view, he spotted a large group of Zerglings harassing a lone Siege Tank. The poor Siege Tank Pilot couldn't fire upon himself because the Zerglings were swarming around the tank, and his comrades couldn't help him because their Arclite Shock Cannons would not only kill the Zerglings, the residual damage from the shells from the cannons would also kill their lone comrade.

Sam took off the shotgun from his back and turned on the sniper sight. The faint red laser sight of the E-135 UED Shotgun appeared on one of the Zergling's back. He pressed the trigger, and blew apart the Zergling. The other Zerglings realized the threat from his direction and rushed him, their sharp claws glinting in the now setting sun. The Siege Tanks realized that the Zerglings were not attacking them anymore and the thunderous shells rained down on the now helpless Zerglings. Now the Zerglings were torn between attacking one enemy and the other. Some of the Zerglings decided to attack him and he picked up his Gauss Rifle to get ready for close quarters combat. Then out of nowhere a Zergling leaped onto him, suddenly a cold fear gripped the pit of his stomach and he felt nauseous. He fired wildly, shooting one surprised Zergling in the face. The other Zerglings rushed him, and he felt a sharp claw pierce his gut. He decided to take the other Zerglings out before he was killed himself.

As he took out the last Zergling, he looked down to see the ground soaked with his blood. He felt his eyes starting to tear up and he passed out from severe pain.

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Chapter Two

"Don't leave me father, don't leave."

"Don't give up my dear, have faith."

"Sam, you must not fall, you can stumble, but don't fall; you must get back up."

"Come back!"

Sam woke with a start to blinking lights and the steady beeping of life support machines. He recognized the room as one of the rooms in the hospital. He looked down to see his large wound patched up and cleanly dressed. He realized that he had been rescued and brought back to the command center. He heard the ding of an elevator and Commodore Ryan appeared. "How are you feeling Captain Samwise?" he questioned.

"Fine Commodore, but who brought me here?" Samwise questioned. Samwise desperately wanted to know who had rescued him so he could thank them for saving his life.

"His name is FB, and he is the newest special unit like you in our army. He has the same status of Captain like you." the Commodore explained..

"May I be able to see him? I would really like to say thanks." Samwise asked.

"Sure Captain Samwise, I will send him in immediately. Get well soon." Commodore Ryan said as he exited the room. Sam wondered who this FB character was as he was sitting and examining the battle scars on his precious Shotgun. Just the he heard the pneumatic doors hiss and a man stepped in. The man was the same height as him and was wearing the standard marine armour but it was coloured a deep green. On the man's back was a long sword and a menacing looking machine gun. The man's face was cover by his helmet. Sam lay back into the pillows, and he heard the sound of a sword leaving its sheath. Sam looked around for a weapon to defend himself but the man wasn't coming for him. In fact, Samwise noticed that the man seemed to be showing him the sword, and so Samwise looked closely at the sword.

Samwise's mind practically screamed. "That's Frodo's sword Sting!" he yelled out loud. The man standing near his hospital bed took off his helmet. Samwise gave a gasp of disbelief as he realized that the man was actually his long time friend Frodo Baggins.

"Of course that's my sword Sam, whose else is it? Long time no see, huh Sam." Frodo calmly said as he sat down on a chair near the bed.

"Mr. Frodo, how did you get here? And how did you know that I was here?" Samwise questioned, still partly frozen from disbelief.

"Well you know that Gandalf, Bilbo, and I sailed off from the Grey Havens right? Well after arriving in the Elvish homeland, we stayed for an year or two. I was starting to feel homesick so I decided to visit. I was peering over the side when the ship rocked, and I fell in to the ocean. I passed out inside the water and I woke up here. I got hired by the Terrans as a Captain amongst their ranks. I trained and trained for the cause of the Terrans because I did not know how to get home. A few years later, I became known as Captain FB. That was how I knew you were here, because I was the one who rescued you." Frodo explained.

"Frodo, I still can't believe that it is you. We must fight in this war together and somehow get back home. Thanks Frodo, now I have a friend here with me, I feel unstoppable." Samwise kindly said.

Just then the nurse came in and told Frodo kindly to exit the room so she could put Samwise in the healing bath so he could heal. Just then, Commodore Ryan burst into the room followed by Frodo. "Captain Samwise, I have to talk to you. Nurse, could you please exit the room?" Commodore Ryan pleaded. The nurse obliged and quickly walked out the door. "Sources tell us that an enormous army of Zerg warriors are approaching us from the west. We have decided to throw all our supplies and soldiers into producing the grandest army that this UED Federation has ever seen. This is possibly the last battle you will ever fight Captains." the Commodore solemnly explained. He took out two badges from his pocket and showed them two both Frodo and Samwise. "That is why I have decided to make you both Grand Commanders of this new army we call the Parallax Confederacy. May the gods be with you in this battle, we move out in 5 hours, be ready Grand Commanders." he declared.

"Well Sam, we fought in the War of the Ring together back in Middle Earth, so we will fight together again, and we just might fall together Sam." Frodo solemnly said. Sam stood up and strapped on his new blue and green armour signifying that he was a Grand Commander and following Frodo out the door, reaching for his Shotgun that was leaned against the wall. "We're going to war Sam, let us have these moments together to talk. Samwise did not disagree and sat down, talking about the old days where they had lived in the Shire together. That was how the 5 hours passed and Samwise, Frodo, and the rest of the marines inside the barracks grabbed the rest of their materials.

They all gathered into the briefing room and looked up at Sam. "Men, this will be the final battle that most of you will fight in, so make it count. The fate of the whole planet depends on this battle." Samwise declared.

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Chapter 4

"Let's go to war!" the marines all shouted in unison. This is how they entered the battlefield, faces lit up by smiles and their faces lined with the joy of fighting, doing what they were trained for. In the west, they heard a loud rumbling, and started to see the shapes of the enemy Zerg bearing down on them. Samwise split off from the main group taking a small group of marines with him as a group of Zerglings and an Ultralisk pounded down the sandy ground, the gravel flying with their onslaught.

An Ultralisk bore down on the tiny group of Marines, their massive scythe blades hissing through the air. The marines opened fire, the impact of their bullets ripping chunks of the Zerg's exoskeleton from its body, but it kept coming. Samwise tore a rifle from the hands of a dead soldier and held down the trigger, firing the remaining ammo in the clip point blank into the Zerg's face, but the Ultralisk didn't even slow down. As it raised its huge scythe claws to strike, a high pitched whistle filled the air. There was a explosive blast, an eruption of flame, and the Ultralisk became a million bloody fragments, the victim of a 120 mm shell from a Siege Tank's Arclite Shock Cannon.

The squad protecting Samwise began to run towards the low hill where all that remained of the legions regrouping. Samwise was surprised to see Frodo standing in the side of the field, speaking into a communicator.

"Yes sir, yes, we have a defensible position. Yes sir, Private Arietzov is here, his tank has been destroyed. Yes, sir, go right ahead. Roger that, out."

Samwise approached him. "Frodo, I thought you were supposed to be commanding the left flank, what are you doing here?" he questioned.

"Yes, well, I saw all your men heading for this hill, and figured it looked better than my position. We should be able to hold them here." Frodo said.

"How many of your men are dead?" Samwise asked, adding a new clip into the rifle he still held in his fist.

"My group has about twenty percent of our men wiped out, and yours, about thirty-five percent from the looks of it. The other regiments are in position and closing in. If we can hold here, the battle is ours." Frodo said as he popped a clip into his specialized machine gun.

"Let's hope we can, because here they come!" Samwise yelled as the Zerg closed in. The swarm rushed the hill from all sides, shrieking wildly, not caring that the warriors in front were slain before they could get their menacing claws within reach. The flying Zerg swooped in, spitting acid, blowing holes in the Terran's lines. As soon as a gap appeared, it was filled by more men. The Goliaths fired their remaining surface to air missiles and then, with surface-to-air-missile racks empty, turned their 20mm autocannons skyward and desperately tried to defend against the Zerg flying warriors.

Samwise rushed back and forth across the group's formation, shouting orders and words of encouragement, moving men to fill gaps in the line, ordering fire on particular Zerg units. He kept no track of time, and lost count of the casualties. There was no recovery time, no time to drag the wounded to safety before the next wave of Zerg hit, because there was no next wave. The swarms of Zerg attacked in a solid mass, wearing down the defenders. The soil of the low hill became muddy with blood, both human and Zerg. The screams of the dying and wounded filled Sam's ears, along with the sound of blazing guns.

Suddenly, he was aware that the hordes of attacking Zerg were scattering in confusion, and a cheer rose up from the desperate marines. The other two legions had arrived! Now the Zerg were trapped between the desperate troops on top of the low hill and the fresh troops that now flanked them.

The Zerg did not give up; it was not their nature. Their small brains could not understand what surrender was. They rushed the newcomers, exposing themselves to fire from the marines atop the hill. The fresh Terran soldiers advanced, sandwiching the remaining Zerg between the two groups of marines, Goliaths and Siege tanks. The Zerg, their swarm cut to ribbons and their forces decreasing rapidly, made one last desperate charge at the hill. The slaughter was over in a matter of moments. Not one living Zerg remained on the battlefield.

Victory. Samwise looked around him. The dead and dying laid everywhere, Zerg and Terran alike. The ground was stained with blood, littered with spent bullet casings, torn up by the claws of the Zerg. The smoke of burning bodies hung in the air. The Terrans held the field, but the price was terrible. Samwise's legion had suffered horribly. He was barely at even half strength. Frodo's had suffered equally, and even the other legions were not untouched. The Zerg had given a horrible price for their defeat. Victory...

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Chapter 5

Samwise looked up numbly as Frodo walked up. "Captain Hawkins says to get up on the ridge before the Zerg reinforce it. See he's already there. He didn't have much trouble; most of the Zerg were down here. The Siege Tanks are moving up as we speak. Let's get out of here."

Samwise nodded, unable to speak for a moment. The wounded hadn't even been gathered up yet, and already the army was moving on. He opened his communicator and signaled his legion Captains. "Good fighting boys. Let's reform with everyone that's fit for fighting. The medics will be down soon for the wounded. All the rest, I want you up on that ridge now." He switched off the communicator and clambered up on a passing Siege Tank. The tank captain peered out of the hatch. 

"Commander, what are you doing up there?"

"Riding. Carry on, soldier."

It was late afternoon. The Sam's division was gathering on the top of the ridge. Frodo's division now had only 20,000 troops that were still fit for combat. Samwise stood on the top of the ridge, scanning the plains below with his binoculars. The main assault upon the Zerg army had begun some hours before, and it continued still. It was an awesome sight. The plain was blackened with bodies.

The other two legions in the Parallax Confederacy were fanned out to Samwise's right, the eastern part of the plain. Those two divisions together made about 90,000 men. The entire Mithrandir Confederacy, soldiers from the northern part of the planet Tarsnosis, approximately 54,000 men, 12,000 Siege Tanks, 9,000 Wraiths, 900 Battlecruisers, 30,000 Goliaths, and 50,000 motorcycle-like vehicles called Vultures were approaching from the west, Samwise's left, curling around in an attempt to flank the main Zerg army that defended the hive cluster. The Zerg were massed together around the hive, about a million of them, Zerglings, Hydralisks, Mutalisks, and Guardians were slowly expanding, attacking the Terran forces with a never-ending wave, pushing the attackers back. The battle had been raging since the morning, and it was now 2:00. The Parallax Confederacy's 1,907 Siege Tanks were arranged in groups along the entire length of the ridge, lending fire support to the Terran forces below, but they were a drop in a pond against the overwhelming numbers of the Zerg.

The Terrans were losing the ground they had gained in the morning, and the Zerg continued to move reinforcements up from within the Hive Cluster since the Hives provided fresh troops every minute by mutating them from eggs. The third legion of Raynor Squadron was still several hours away, and marching as quickly as they could to help out the forces.

"Commander Samwise! Someone told me I should find you up here." It was Captain Hawkins. He climbed up onto the rock and came over to stand beside Sam.

"I merely came to congratulate you on a good job today, Commander. You fought well, despite being badly outnumbered. Your regrouping on that hill displayed excellent grasp of strategy sir."

Samwise managed an embarrassed smile. "Thank you."

Hawkins was silent for a long while, his gaze arrested by the battle on the plain. Samwise turned back to it as well. He finally spoke again.  
"What do you think of this fight, Captain Hawkins?"

"Down there, sir?"

"Yes."

"We're losing, sir. We will be pushed back quite a way. The men have been fighting for five hours or so, non-stop. You can see that we've already lost a lot of the ground we captured this morning. At the end of the day, the only new ground we hold may well be this ridge. And the casualties will be heavy." Captain Hawkin's voice was grim.

"Captain, our position today provides a opportunity to see the big picture. I will tell you this. Today, many good men, excellent fighting men, will die because Commodore Ryan is simply hurling these troops pointlessly against the Zerg's masses. He will lose. The Zerg have close to a million down there, or did before today. Tomorrow, if he survives the battle, Commodore will issue an order that all units are to hold their ground and wait for reinforcements. And while we wait for those reinforcements, the Zerg will rebuild theirs as well, and when we attack next, they will be ready for us. Their Commander the Torrasque is not stupid. It is displaying better grasp of strategy than Commodore Ryan ever will." Samwise's lip curled bitterly as he said this last bit.

"Just look there!" Hawkins shouted, pointing. Samwise followed his outstretched finger, straight ahead, where the Zerg were pushing back and slaughtering the human forces on both sides.

"Those poor men." Samwise muttered, half to himself.

"Not just that! Don't you see it?"

"See what, Captain?"

"The hole Commander, the hole!"

"In the lines?"

"No, in the Zerg. There is a gap there, Commander, and it's widening. The Zerg are pushing our forces back, but their own is weakening in the middle. Right in front of our position, in about ten or twenty minutes, there will be a large hole that goes all the way to the Hive Cluster!" Hawkins' voice was getting more excited as he went along.

"Good job Captain, I realize what you are saying." Samwise raised his binoculars. Yes, the Zerg swarm was thinning in front of the ridge, but it could just be a trick of the eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure. Commander, that hole won't exist for very long before this Torrasque notices it and plugs it. But for a while, it will be pretty big. You couldn't march a legion through it, or even a thousand men. But if a group of 600 men were to seize the opportunity with some backup covering them, it could be all the way to the Hive cluster before the Zerg knew what hit them."

"O.K Captain, I agree that we should carry out the plan, get your forces ready." Samwise declared.

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Chapter 6

Hawkins' eyes widened. "Sir? Sir, are you suggesting that my group assault the Zerg Hive cluster? Sir; that would be madness! Sheer madness, sir. We're under half strength as it is, sir. The men have already fought one battle today. They're tired. We'd be slaughtered!"

"No."

"Commander, our orders are to hold this hill."

"To hell with orders!" Samwise shouted, waving his hand. The effort seemed to drain him. His shoulders slumped under the shoulder plates. When he spoke next, his voice was so quiet that he could barely be heard.

"Hawkins, I have been fighting for five years since the Zerg came and tried to kill me when I landed on this world. Five and a half years, Hawkins, I have fought. I have become a military machine. A good one, but I am tired, Hawkins, tired and weary. You cannot believe how tired I am. I am sick of the war and sick of Commodore Ryan and sick of the Zerg. I want to rest. I want the war to be over today. Within that Hive Cluster there resides a disgusting alien with a big brain. If we can bring it down, the Zerg will be finished. Kill the Torrasque, and the Horde falls apart. If it survives the battle today, then it will keep fighting! The battle for Tarsnosis will become a huge stalemate, and the casualties will mount on both sides, until Commodore Ryan admits defeat and goes home. There are not enough Terrans in the galaxy to defeat this hive in a massed assault."

Hawkins looked into Samwise's face. He realized with shock that that Samwise looked old, old and frail. His face was scored with lines of worry, his brow furrowed. But within his eyes there was strength and hope, which battled his fatigue. It was then that Hawkins knew that no amount of persuasion would deter him from the course he had set.

"O.K Commander, I will go and prepare my troops for the assault." Hawkins said as he saluted and started to walk away.

Samwise smiled, erasing some of the lines from his face. "Thank you Hawkins. Alert your men. Issue the order for stimpacks. I think this will be the Parallax Confederacy's last charge. Also get me Commander FB; we are going to need his legion for backup. I need to talk to him personally." Samwise said.

"Sir?"

Samwise turned. "Yes?"

"Do you really think we can do it?"

"Of course. I wouldn't throw away the lives of my men if I didn't."

"Very well then. Let's roll."

Samwise took off his helmet, this war was starting to take its toll on him. As he heard a sound behind he turned to see Frodo walking up to him. "You wanted to talk to me Sam?"

"Yes. Frodo, this is going to be my last assault, you may never see me again. If I happen to die, and you somehow get back, tell Rosie that I love her. O.K Frodo?"

"O.K Sam, just get back safely, I can't imagine going back to Middle Earth without you. I'll make sure you get back safely." Frodo solemnly said. Frodo moved out to rally his troops so they could follow Hawkins' and Samwise's legion and provide covering fire.

The waiting was the hardest part. Samwise stood on the top of the ridge, binoculars to his eyes. The gap Hawkins had spoken of was there, still widening as the Zerg forced the Terrans back and in doing so, split their forces down the middle. They would not fail. They could not.

Just then, he heard the voice on his communicator stating that the rest of the groups were ready for the assault, Samwise beckoned his men to follow and joined up with Hawkins' and Frodo's groups at the bottom of the ridge. "Move out!" Samwise yelled

The Parallax's Siege Tanks opened up with a thunderous roar, all one thousand four hundred-seven cannons, blasting a path through the few Zerg still standing in the Samwise's and Hawkins' path. Samwise raised his Shotgun into the air. For the first time, he would be leading a battle from the ground. There was no command tank to hide in now. He waited for the familiar voice to sound through the speakers.

"Sam, and Captain Hawkins, commence assault!" Frodo said over the communicator.

With a wild whoop, Samwise pointed his gun at the Hive Cluster below on the plain. "Charge men! For the glory of the Terrans, for the Shire, and for all of us, charge!"

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Chapter 7

What was left of the Parallax Confederacy streamed down off the rode, a long, thin column, marching at first, then running. There were no ranks, no order. The gap between the two Zerg forces was only two hundred yards meters at best. It would only be moments before the Zerg noticed the gap and closed it, trapping the Terrans and massacring them.

So Samwise ran, adrenaline pumping, his legs almost a blur. He saw the Zerg flyers swooping in, then saw Frodo's Goliath's surface to air missiles streaming skywards, blasting the creatures to pieces.

It seemed then that the two halves of the Zerg swarm suddenly became aware of the new threat and turned, forgetting the rest of the Terran army. Their only mission was to crush this tiny thread of men that raced toward the Hive Cluster. The siege tanks rained death upon the charging Zerg, wiping out dozens at a time in a fiery shower of shells, but the swarm closed in. Samwise realized he was firing, pounding death into the snarling jaws of the rushing Zerg. There was a roar as the Firebats opened up, spewing flames to the foremost ranks of the aliens. Samwise took a quick glance towards the Hive Cluster. There was only a few hundred yards to it. They weren't going to make it.

Samwise remembered back to when the War of the Ring was happening, they had used the Eagle formation to destroy the orcs. That was it, Eagle Formation, that was the way to destroying the Zerg. "Eagle Formation, execute!" Sam yelled at the top of him lungs. They men went into a crescent formation and got ready to run.

"Forward march!" Who gave the order? Samwise wasn't sure that it came from his throat. It didn't matter, the formation was moving, marching at a run, slicing into the Zerg that tried to get around it and died by the hundreds against the Terran's guns. He saw Frodo shoot at the Zerg with his machine gun, his face sleek with sweat, a Zergling came around from the side and leaped on him. Samwise tried to reach Frodo but Samwise remembered that he had to lead the march. Fighting back tears, Samwise marched forward, concentrating on his current task. The Siege Tank shells rained down, knocking the Zerg into confusion, but the Marines did not flinch. The Eagle Formation pushed through the Zerg, foot by foot, clearing itself a path. They paid a terrible price for their advance, however. The men on the outside of the formation were brutally torn to pieces by the claws of the Zerg. The only thing to do was to continue fighting and marching with the formation.

Samwise realized that the ground had become soft. His boots sunk into it, and he knew that they had reached the Hive Cluster. This was Zerg territory. The Hive was arranged in rings of circles. The Torrasque sat in the center, among three towering Hives, the Zerg structures that hatched the Horde.

"Protect the demolition squad!" Samwise shrieked, firing his rifle into the masses of Zerg that flowed into the Hive Cluster, intent on destroying the human invaders. All around him, the other Marines' rifle pounded insanely, their tips glowing red from the heat. There was only one thought, to give the demolition squad time to kill the Torrasque with their explosives.

The demolition team ran to the inert Torrasque and pulled off their packs of explosives. With quick movements, they armed and placed their bombs, but it was too late, the Zerglings and Ultralisks flooded into the clearing and started to massacre the demolition squad.

"Dear God." Samwise thought, a split second before the combined explosive charges killed the Torrasque and everything near it in a massive fireball and just then the demolition squad had been destroyed. The Zerg forces now started to focus on the attacking Terran forces, and Samwise saw men around him fall, screaming and writhing as they were ripped open by numerous claws. Out of the corner of his eyes, Samwise saw Frodo run toward the explosives.

"Oh no!" thought Samwise as he realized what Frodo was going to do. He ran toward Frodo refusing to believe that Frodo was actually going to do this. Frodo saw Sam running toward him and started to run before Sam could stop him. He waved a goodbye and ran towards the Torrasque, and at the same time his machine gun blazing clearing a path to the Torrasque.

Frodo closed in on the Torrasque and yelled out, "For the Shire!" As Frodo slammed into the Torrasque and detonated the explosives, Samwise tripped and fell. An expanding wall of flame rushed out, scorching the Zerg structures and enveloping Samwise and the marines near him for a brief second. All he saw was the fiery red of the flames.

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Chapter 8

As his visor cleared, Sam realized that the battlefield was totally silent. He saw a Zergling stumbling forward, shaking its head as if to clear it. For a moment, he was too stunned to move, and then he found his voice.

"Kill the rest of the Zerg! Kill 'em all!" Sam fired, blowing the incapacitated Zerg's head to pieces. The marines that were left from the Parallax Confederacy opened fire, running forward into the swarm, sometimes running right up to twitching Zerg to fire a burst into their brains.

"Hey Commander." It was Corporal Zeke Tolliver. "Get your men out of here so us artillery can have some fun."

Some of the marines seemed reluctant to retreat from the shooting gallery that the swarm had become, but when the 120 mm Arclite shells began to fall, they changed their minds. Samwise stood with Hawkins who had managed survived the fight and watched as the mindless Zerg were blown to pieces by Siege Tanks from all over the field.

"The war's over, boys! Tarsonis is ours! We're all goin' home!" The marines sat as if stunned for a moment, then they all burst into tears and laughter. Others within hearing range began to fire their rifles into the air. The celebration spread through the Parallax Confederacy, then across the battlefield. Men began throwing their rifles away.

"Guess I ain't gonna need this no more. I really liked that gun." A marine standing near Samwise remarked.

The artillery bombing of the plain had ceased. All that remained of the Zerg were heaps of bodies and scattered insect-like limbs. Samwise left the celebration and walked down to the plain. He could feel his nose bleeding. Was victory really worth it? Samwise went to the spot where Frodo had kamikazied.

He wandered among the heaps of charred Zerg, their bodies made more hideous as they lay, twisted in death. Here and there, the bodies of marines and the burned out remains of Terran vehicles could be seen. Some of the men were from the Parallax. Samwise recognized the standard bearer, sitting upright, leaning against his flagpole. A large hole through his torso bore witness to his death. The banner of the Parallax Confederacy still waved above his still form.

Samwise moved on, heading for the Hive cluster. He could see a command tank parked there, and recognized it as Captain Hawkins'. Spent cartridges were scattered over the creep within the Hive like confetti after a wedding. The bodies of fallen Zerg lay as they had died, their exoskeletons shattered by bullets. The only human bodies here were from the Parallax.

Samwise saw Hawkins standing in the center of the hive, near where the Torrasque had been. Now, only a blackened crater remained. The creep was burned back for ten metres around the crater. Captain Hawkins stood beside a medic, who was crouched over an inert figure. As Samwise walked closer, he heard the medic say,

"Commander, he's still alive."

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Chapter 9

Hawkins knelt beside the body. Samwise saw that it was Frodo. Miraculously, Frodo had survived the explosion that had killed the Torrasque. His armour was charred and pitted from shrapnel, and his face was badly burned. Samwise ran up to him. Frodo tried to speak. The medic began applying a painkiller.

"Sam..." He looked at peace, even though his face was severely burned, Sam's tears fell freely, splattering on Frodo's burned cheeks.." Sam, did we kill it? Did we kill it Sam…?" Frodo's voice was full of pleading.

"Yes." Samwise was startled. The Sam's voice was thick with emotion. "Yes. We killed it. Did you have to Frodo, why Frodo, why?" Samwise buried his face in his hands and wept freely.

"Don't worry..." Frodo broke into a wide grin. "I guess we'll be going home then. Don't know how I look now, though. I wonder if anyone will recognize me."

"You look fine, Frodo. Just fine."

"When you get back home, make sure you bury me in Rivendell, it's what old Bilbo would have liked.

"Yes. You rest now."

Frodo settled back down onto the ground, a smile spreading across his burned face. His eyes closed as the painkiller took effect. There was a long silence, then the medic leaned forward with a gasp and checked the marine's pulse, then turned to Samwise.

"Commander, this man is dead."

Samwise nodded, then gently picked up Frodo from the ground. He stood up, and as he turned, he collapsed, his body racking with his sobs.

"Commander, I'm sorry." Hawkins said solemnly.

"Look what I have done, Hawkins! Look what I have done!"

"My best friend is now dead because of this war, and now, what will I do?" he asked Hawkins. Sam picked up Frodo and stumbled away.

"But we, we won, sir." Hawkins called after him.

"Yes. We won. The war is finally over. But think of the cost. My legion is decimated. Commander FB is dead, along with many other men, and for what? So Commodore Ryan could say that he conquered a force of million Zerg? I'm tired of this; I can't face my men anymore. Thousands of good men have been slaughtered, on my orders. Yes, Hawkins, I suppose you could say we won. Goodbye." With that, Samwise Gamgee turned off into the bloody sunset, carrying the dismembered corpse that once had been his best friend. That was the last that anyone saw of Commander Samwise Gamgee, the greatest Commander to have come from Middle Earth.

-The End-


End file.
